Sil’s Drive-Thru

I probably never would have visited this place if a friend hadn’t suggested it. Boy am I glad I tried it. The doughnuts came out warm and soft and delicious. And they’re so cheap! Tastes like the doughnuts you get at the fair, now I don’t have to wait till summer. Yum!

Not dead yet… check out 7 Mile Fair and look for their food stands at festivals and fairs around the city! :)

Poor Sil’s. Well, more like poor us because Sil’s is closed. It was nice to walk home after a cocktail and grab some hot mini donuts.
The unfortunate thing is that with the closing of Sil’s, the corner of North & Oakland is looking more and more desolate every month. RIP to all east side staples that are no more. *tear*

R.I.P. Sil’s… April 2012. Big sad-​face emote. Right here… :(… See.
Yes, the east side location is now closed and that makes me more sad than I can even put into words. I only discovered Sil’s this year. After saying to myself a bajillion (that’s a lot) times, «I NEED to go there», I finally went. And it was amazing. So I went again. And again. Mini doughnuts fresh out of the fryer, I won’t even get into how good they are since you can’t just drive there and get them, that would be cruel.
The silver lining? Sil’s will still exist at 7-​Mile Fair in Racine and all the local Milwaukee Festivals, so they are not lost forever. Not being able to get them whenever I want does kind of suck, but I know where they are and I will seek them out.
Sad emote, because one was not enough. :(

I finally had the opportunity this weekend to sample Sil’s Drive-​Thru after living in Milwaukee for 25.5 years and living a block away for the last 1.5 years. I am not the kind of person to go specifically for donuts. But, we learned that Sil’s will be closing at the end of the month because their landlord won’t renew their lease (I have to imagine there is going to be some pretty intense public outcry).
For $ 1.75, you get 6 (we actually got 7) mini donuts freshly fried and powdered. This was the freshest donuts I have ever experienced, other than homemade. Very delicious. Great price, too. It was enough to share and get the taste without feeling icky.

We stopped at Beans & Barley right next door for lunch, and had heard of Sil’s before-​we walked over and saw the sign that said their landlord was choosing not to renew their lease and they’d be out of this location by April 30^th. That sealed the deal, we must try Sil’s before they are gone (from this location). The employees were super friendly, the mini donuts (large, 12 donuts– cinnamon sugar for only $ 3.50!) were warm, not too sweet and not greasy. I got a medium coffee as well, and it was also good.
By happenstance we got lunch nearby the next day as well, and couldn’t resist another batch of donuts. This time we got a large cinnamon sugar and powdered sugar mix and I picked up a redeye this time. The powdered sugar started to melt on the hot donuts – they were still good the second time I can assure you :)
Stop in before April 30^th!

What better way to celebrate Milwaukee Day, 4/​14, with a visit to Sil’s for some mini donuts! The service is always friendly — everyone I’ve encountered seems to love working here. It’s a shame this drive-​through location is closing at the end of this month. Hurry in and try some donuts! They’ll still be at the 7 Mile Fair and Summerfest, though.
I always like to get a small bag (1.75!) of the powdered sugar and cinnamon donuts. They’re served in a paper bag, piping hot, and they almost melt in your mouth.

The awesome design of this stand and the wafting smell of fresh-​baked donuts lured us in to try Sil’s, even after we had just filled our bellies at Hotch-​a-​Do. Happiness is a warm, fresh donut. We will be seeking Sil’s out at the 7 Mile Fair!

The little donuts are rightly famous –hot, fresh and cheap ($ 1.75 for a bag of six). But it’s Sil’s coffee that I can’t stop thinking about. It might be the ultimate expression of classic donut-​shop joe.
Incredibly sad to hear that Sil’s is closing at the end of April. Another local institution lost. For now, though, eat up.

These donuts make me believe that God truly exists.
No, but seriously. Amazing donuts. They’re simple little balls of dough covered in either cinnamon sugar or powdered sugar, but they’re beyond-​words delicious. My friends and I each got small bags of cinnamon sugar donuts, and they were so fresh and hot that they nearly melted in my mouth. I don’t think I’ve ever had anything more incredible. And they’re so cheap too! A small bag is only $ 1.75!
Staff is really friendly, and it’s in a pretty nifty area of town. Definitely coming back for some late-​night mini donut runs!

I knew nothing of this place before stopping by.
I was in town, visiting a friend, and it looked cool and I love donuts.
I got a bag, loved it, and got another bag the next day.
What more could you want from a donut place other than great, cheap eats and a friendly staff?
Stop by, it’s great!

MKE, you continue to amaze me! I was searching for a cheesesteak when I found mini donuts instead. Well, not instead, I had both! After getting my Philly fix I strolled across the lot to the walk up window, picked up a bag of cinnamon sugar/​powdered combo and coffee to bring back to Aloft for my lovely wife. It was a hot sugary concoction that I had to keep myself from eating in the car. Yes, I know you can get mini doughnuts from most malls. But is it this original and this easy? Come on, theres both a walk up AND a drive thru window! And their coffee cups are cool too. By the way, the dude put WAY too much powdered sugar and cinnamon sugar for the amount of donut in my bag. And this was a good thing…

In the immortal words of Twin Peaks hero Agent Dale Cooper: «Every day, once a day, give yourself a present. Don’t plan it, don’t wait for it, just let it happen». Sil’s Drive-​Thru is there to make treating yourself so cheap any easy that you will find yourself smiling in even life’s most daunting times.
You might think little donuts are all alike. You may have an inclination for some Entenmann’s Frosted Pop’Ems. They are good, to be sure. Hostess Donette Gems also have a lot going for them, certainly. But Sil’s freshly-​made mini-​donuts have a true healing effect upon the soul.
I recommend bringing any little ones you can over to Sil’s some afternoon and visit the window (the drive-​through is for callous mouth-​breathers). Go on and order yourself a dozen fresh cinnamon.
Watch the Suess-​esque machine pop out the tiny extruded dough… then they swell into awesomeness in a canal of oil… cool whirlygigs and levers tease the proto-​donuts… into a blossoming of fried cinnamon awesomeness. The greatest show on North Avenue will set you back a mere $ 3, and you get to keep and eat the artful product!

I was @ Chubby’s (same parking lot) after dinner and we were looking for something sweet. Daughter asked what Sil’s was, I had no idea. As I finished she got on her phone and checked it out. I had a conversation a few minutes earlier that I wanted sugary Dunkin Doughnuts. WOW what good timing. Lacking on the toppings which is powdered sugar or Cinnamon sugar or combo. $ 1.50 buys a baby slice of heaven for 6 little gems. $ 3.00 for 12 or my bunch of damage if allowed $ 14.00 for an «office pack» which is 60. It was cool to watch these ‘lil doughnuts being made just for us! *special warm fuzzy feelings* Anyhow they do have espresso drinks, hot dogs, chili dogs veggie dogs etc. I can’t help with prices, wasn’t there for those. Yes do buy these and oh tip the doughnut man they give extra Combo powder on the ‘lil darlin’s. :D
Questions??? See ya in line… :)

Lets just say… THEIR DONUTS ARE ADDICTING!!! This place is seriously delicious. I was not even a fan of donuts until now! Think about having the tastiest little sugar or cinnamon coated snack… but made fresh. Perfect! When I take people to North… this is always a stop.
Also they do have good coffee, bagels with cream cheese, among other things. The best part about their bagel and cream cheese is they will LOAD it on for you! All you have to do is ask. :)
So what do you do when you get to Sil’s?
1. Either choose the drive through or walk up entrance
2. If it’s cold stand by the window
3. Smile and ask nicely for your choice of delicious treats
4. Always order the bag of donuts (I thought this was obvious but I figured I would add it just in case)
5. Pay them with dinero.
6. Smile!
7. Thank them!
8. Jump up and down while screaming how delicious everything is!
Enjoy!

MINI FRACKING DONUTS.
Doughnuts? Donuts? How to spell? Is either acceptable? I feel like I want to spell it doughnuts but it takes too long and looks a little weird so maybe donuts? But that’s like spelling night «nite» … not okay.
Well… they’re delicious either way. Amazeballs. Fresh, hot, mini orbs of goodness covered in cinnamon and sugar. It’s like ingesting a double rainbow.
I don’t go here often because, well, they’re donuts. Doughnuts. Nuts of fried dough with sugar. But you should go, absolutely.

Another place I used to frequent when I lived on the east side and could eat glutenous delights. The large bag of combo donuts is the best! They come out hot, fresh and covered in powder sugar and cinnamon sugar. They serve Alterra coffees. Their late night dogs are good after the bar. The people that work there are always so friendly and patient. Even the times I was obnoxious, they never lost their cool with me and never laughed at me. I still stop in for a good coffee when I am on that side of town. I miss the donuts.
Be sure to get a punch card. Also, look out for their creative art work on their tip cups and the cement wall in front of the drive through.

They have fresh hot hot dogs. They have fresh hot mini donuts. Both are near great. The only problem, and it is a very small one, is that they serve Red Hot Chicago hot dogs instead of Vienna Beef, and if you bill it as a Chicago-​style hot dog, it’s gotta be Vienna Beef.

Donuts and hot dogs don’t normally go together, but when you’re a part of Milwaukee’s Fashionably Drunk East Side at 2:00 in the morning, they both sound pretty f’n good.
They’re not bad at 7:00 in the morning alongside an eco-​friendly cup of coffee, either. The cinnamon and sugar is a classic combination, and having them straight out of the fryer is like eating a little puffy cloud of happiness. I found them to be a little undercooked for my liking — very soft through and through, providing little resistence to my bite, but they weren’t doughy or anything, so maybe it’s a conscious decision to serve them that way.
Incongruously, the very modern and imposing design of the building only supplies diners with a fleeting moment at the counter before they’re whisked away by their hunger to find someplace to eat, but for a short while there’s soms serious chomping down thanks to the folks at Sil’s.

Okay I may have batter thrown at me for this low review. I will have to give it another try. After driving by a thousand times and hearing amorous reviews, we gave it a try.
Well, the guy who was in the glassy shack was super nice. We opted for one large bag of powder sugared and one large bag of cinnamon/​sugar. …meh. I have had way better, unfortunately not around here. There were not quite cooked all the way. But they begged to give them another try.
Maybe we will wait until late night so we can take advantage of the donuts and the wieners for the wasted special.
I hope to update this soon with more stars.